Everyone Wears A Mask
by NeoMiniTails
Summary: It wasn't a masquerade, but they were both wearing masks.
1. Prologue: The Masks That He and I Wore

**Disclaimer:**

_I do not own the Batman or Sailor Moon franchise. If I did, I wouldn't be a fan, writing fan fiction._

**Author's Note:**

_This entire story is dedicated to MissScorp._

_My first multi-chapter comic/manga crossover... it's kind of like a test, but I hope you enjoy it._

**Prologue: **_The Masks That He and I Wore_

Rei walked up the steps of the abandoned warehouse, feeling like she would have a heart attack. This couldn't be real. Why did she get a message from Usagi's cell phone? That was impossible. She wasn't in Gotham. Her princess wasn't supposed to be involved in any of this. The shinto priestess had called Ami repeatedly, but for some reason, the genius wouldn't answer the phone.

Something wasn't right.

Still, she needed to be practical. This could be a trap, but what if Usagi was there? What would she do then? Pulling out her communicator, she tried to see if there was a reception here. No, for some reason, that was completely being blocked out. How was that even possible?

It didn't even run off human-made energy.

Her phone was ringing in her purse. Quickly, she grabbed it, hoping to see Ami or Michiru's name. Neither. It was Usagi's number again.

"Usagi! Is that you?"

Silence.

"Usagi!"

"She means that much to you, eh?" A man's filtered voice came over the receiver.

There was silence as Rei looked around, trying to see if someone was watching her. The tops of all the buildings were empty, and there were no cameras anywhere. This was the older part of Gothan City where criminals and homeless alike gathered; the police practically gave it up years ago. It was like being sent into Arkham Asylum.

"You won't be able to find me, even if you tr y!" the man said, almost seeming to laugh to spite her.

"Who is this?" Rei growled.

"Come inside and find out."

Rei bit her lip. "That text from Usagi, did you send it?"

Silence.

"Is she with you?" Rei asked, trying to sound as calm as possible, buying time until she could get Ami to call back.

"If you don't want her dead or any of your friends, stop stalling."

Rei's eyes widened as she ran up the stairs. Her violet eyes were vicious and angry, her black hair whipping in the air. No one threatened her friends and Usagi!

"Mars Eternal Power, Make Up!" Rei shouted, transforming into Eternal Sailor Mars. Her hair was no longer the ravenous black, but now royal violet, matching her eyes. Her business attire changed into an outfit similar to Japanese schoolgirl's outfit, red and purple, wearing long red high heels.

"It's just as I thought, isn't it?" The man's voice went through the walls. "You lied to me all this time."

Rei scowled. Damn, it was someone she knew. She tried to pick up his aura, but even as she tried, there seemed to be so many others i n the area, tearing away her ability to differentiate one from another.

"Where are you ?" sh e screamed out, taking her hands out and blasting through and burning away the walls. She took a left and there was a janitor's closet and beyond that, an alleyway. Turning to the right, there was a bunch of student desk blocking the path.

"Mars Flame Sniper!" A bow and arrow made of fire appeared within her grasp. Her eyes narrowed, she shot the arrow into the barrage of desk, destroying the barrier. The pieces flew through the walls and clashed into the window, and some of debris flew back towards her. A strong wind being blown towards her, sending everything back.

S he dodged the rubble with ease. The ash smothered the air as she coughed and ran forward then went up the stairs at the end of the hallway, taking notice that she was five stories up. Stopping for a moment, she could see that from here on out, both sides had no handles and only glass windows, covering where the walls should be.

"Don't wo rry," the voice spoke again, "I d on't plan on killing you before seeing you in person one more time."

Rei walked through the area, unsure about how to continue through this part. "Listen, we can talk. If you know me then I'm sure this has been a misunderstanding."

"You lied to me."

Rei grimaced. That wouldn't be the first time. "About my identity?" She tried to get the person to talk more, distract them just enough to understand the situation.

"About everything! I can no longer trust you!"

"I'm so sorry, but please, we can talk this out. Just let all my friends go, please." She knew he wouldn't agree, but his answer would at leas t identify what kind of person she was dealing with.

He sighed over the loud system. "You're slick, just like him. I hate you, just like I hate him!"

Rei's heart skipped a beat. That voice, now that it was under the loud system, was no longer unrecognizable. It couldn't be. No, not him. She began to sweat, nervously. "Hey, seriously, I'm not trying to be sly. Let's talk, plea-"

"JUST FREAKING DIE!"

"You said that you fought for the same reason as I do!"

"You said that you wanted the same thing that I do. You're a liar."

Rei ran forward, her heart racing faster than her mind. He wouldn't hurt them, would he? Her mind went back to every moment that she had spent him, the trust that she had in him, the moments where her heart would race with him just coming close to her. This person, no, not that person... he wouldn't do something so cruel. "Please, if you're my friend and everything that we've been through mean anythin-"

"Stop. Playing. Damsel. In. Distress."

Detransforming back into her civilian form, the wielder of fire tried to speak with him, trying to calm him down. "We both fight for the same thing, for love and justice. We can understand one another. Whatever it is that you're upset about, it's not worth it,"

"You called me your kindred heart." The voice came from behind her. He stood in the shadows, his muscles pulsing with each breath. "You said you understood me."

How could he get behind her without her feeling his aura? Rei tensed. He had blood on his hands, and she could smell it. "I'm sorry, but why are you involving Usagi in this?"

He came closer, his face as handsome as it had always been, those sad eyes as tragic as every other moment she had been with him. "Because she means more to you than I ever will. She and Crystal Tokyo, the place that you fight for."

Rei felt her body get weak as he grabbed onto her arm and slammed her against the glass window, shattering it to pieces. She screamed as the glass pierced through her.

"I kept fighting because I believed that you would be with me forever, but you're a liar, just like him and I hate him."

**Eighteen Months Earlier**

**Gotham City**

**Wayne Manor**

Alfred stared incredulously at the paper in his hands, eyeing his boss with a look that Bruce could only read as: "My God, he has completely lost it." Anxiously, the older man looked over at Bruce, moved his lips to speak but nothing came out. How should he phrase it?

"Do you intend to make a script?" he finally asked. Behind that mask of coldness, Bruce could sense a smirk.

"Why do you ask?" The younger man muse d, taki ng his eyes off the paper in his butler's hands and pretended to read the newspaper.

Alfred stared silently at his boss, knowing full well that he knew what he was talking about. Pursing his lips, he stared at the paper with genuine interest. If this paper w ere to be leaked for how Mr. Wayne chose his associates, the people to work under him, the entire world would never question his sanity.

Turning the sheet towards the man he raised, Alfred raised an eyebrow, "Why am I the clean-up artist in this idea of your film?"

Looking it over, the younger man reached for it, a smile on his lips. It almost appeared as if he had forgotten that the Butler had long known that the drunken, over excited playboy was the facade he wore for the world around them. "Well, you do clean up my messes, don't you?"

The butler was clearly not amused.

**Wayne Enterprises **

**in..**

"**This Crazy World We Live In."**

**The Idiot played by Summer D. Leaven **

_**(could be the THG too since Tina is getting kind of old)**_

**The Straight Man played by John K. Warrenn **

_**(fired, needs to be filled)**_

**The Hot Girl played by Tina M. Morrigan **

_**(Blondes are getting old, very cliche... fix this, Batty)**_

**The Girl Who Knows Too Much played Leah K. Millens **  
_**(fired)**_

**This list will be updated as these people's personalities are evaluated.**

**Executive Producer: Bruce Wayne**

**Costume Designer: Lucius Fox**

**Clean Up Artist: Alfred Pennysworth**

"And my name is misspelled?"

"I would never get that wrong." Bruce sipped his iced tea, still pretending that the newspaper interested him.

Alfred looked over the paper again. "Mr. Wayne, if I may, who wrote this? On second look, there are obvious differences in your writing style."

Almost, as if on cue, a young Dick Grayson came trudging in, sweat pouring down his lean, muscular form. "I just wanna show her who's boss!" He yelled into the cellphone, his thin lips curled into disappointment. Although he was obviously talking about something of an adult level, Bruce could only see a child, the boy he had raised when his real parents died.

There was silence as he looked over at the two sitting down, acknowledged them with a head nod and listened to Fox on the other side of the phone. "So what... I don't care that she's our highest producer! She's breaking all the rules..."

More quietness followed as his shoulders leaned over, miffed by whatever details that were being said over the phone.

"Since when do bars have such high standards?" Alfred asked, clearly uninterested in an answer but trying to see what was missing.

"I'm the casting director," the young man who once donned the Robin outfit shouted. It sounded as if he were trying to be demanding, but the high shrill in his voice sounded more like he was begging.

Raising a brow at his butler, Bruce saw the man's cold stare at the paper, lighten and though his expression didn't change, he could read it as relief.

Unsurprisingly, Alfred couldn't hide his disdain. "You're not putting him up as hiring director, are you?"

Alfred understood why he was doing it, and if it was his own child and his own company, the butler would probably do the same thing, trying to fix what had been broken, knowing he was going about it the wrong way. As much as he knew that the business was also part of Bruce's disguise of being just a rich guy who inherited a multi-billion dollar business without a care in the world, hiring Dick may have gone one step too far.

Bruce acted as if he hadn't heard the question. He couldn't imagine losing his son again, not after the time they spent apart. Sure, he knew that offering him a job at Wayne Corp wouldn't heal the wounds, but it would keep him close. It would show his "little Robin" that he saw him as an adult, as "Nightwing," not just the little boy who he took in when his parents were killed.

Looking up, he saw the young man showing a flustered Alfred (whose face didn't show it, but Bruce could read him like a children's book nowadays) what he was using for the interview process.

"See this! It's a livejournal personality test... the real stuff, not like that facebook stuff."

"I see."

"This way, we know what we are getting. Y'know?"

Bruce shook his head. Maybe this was a bad idea.

**Children's Miracle Fundraiser**

**Professor Ludwig Residence**

**Metropolis**

The fact that he had caught her attention had been a complete accident. Men of his stature had always intrigued her, though most were only for a moment. Wayne-san, there was something different about him, something that laid hidden within the depths of darkness that he allowed few to see.

He wasn't much different from the one she loved; and, because of that fact, s he smiled and watched him take out his own wine bottle and pour into his glass, his eyes watching each girl around him with careful eyes. That was the image he wanted people to see. She could see it because she, too, lived under a facade that she called: Kaiou Michiru.

In her mind, she was always Sailor Neptun e . H er civilian form that ha d always been her disguise. Those years before her memory came back, they were false, it was all part of a scheme to keep this masquerade going.

His eyes caught her own. She didn't bother looking away, but instead, smirked and stood up when a man moved to ask her to dance.

She turned to the right where the man had come to ask for this moment alone with her. He was an older man, hunched over slightly, but the way he licked his lips, she could assume that he thought that he would get some tonight.

"Young lady," he repeated for the third time, "May I have this dance with you?"

"Only if you can promise me something." Michiru's eyes danced mischievously over to Mr. Wayne, purposefully giving the older man a very different idea than what she planned.

"Oh." The man chuckled. "You may not know this, but he's a man that you probably don't want to get involved with." His wrinkly hand touched her slender arm, his dimlit brown eyes staring down her shirt, not bothering to hide his distasteful actions.

"And why is that?" She pretended to not notice what he was looking at as she pulled up her dress just a bit to cover up.

"Dance with me, little lady, and we can talk." He wasn't used to being told 'no,' that she picked up as she picked up her purse, stood up, and extended her hand. Michiru knew that, with men like him, to never allow them to be the one to have their way even if she was agreeing to it.

The piano played softly in the background, an opera singer's voice swaying over the melody. The woman singing had lost her passion, and Michiru could feel it. She was singing live, and d espite all the beautiful notes, the song meant nothing to her. She was singing in Latin, a language that Michiru hadn't spoken since what seemed like forever. It felt nostalgic, hearing that voice and despite the happy lyrics, the woman's voice mourned over each note.

Michiru understood that feeling. It was the reason why she, Haruka, and the three other sailor senshi moved to Gothan City. It was the fear that their happiness would leave them unless they did something.

"He's a player," the old man said, surprisingly keeping his promise.

"Oh?" Michiru was never one to divulge tons of information.

"And a drunkard," the old man continued speaking, "I hear that despite his wealth, he does nothing to keep it up."

Jealousy was showing it's ugly face. Michiru sighed. "Sounds like a bad boy." She finally slipped out then in natural dramatics, she looked away, playing embarrassed. "Mama always said that a bad boy would be my downfall."

The man frowned. "What do you need a young man like him for, Miss Kaiou?" His thin leathery lips seemed almost angry, no, that was a look of a man that never had a woman get away from him.

Michiru smiled. "If that's all the information you have for me, the dance must be over." She wasn't afraid of him. Every detail about the old pervert was known, and he wasn't her target. Patting him on the shoulder, she excused herself and walked past Bruce who was talking in a drunken slur.

Each word a sputter of nonsense, it almost made her laugh until she noticed his eyes watching he r. T he way h e looked at her, it was different from the old man. He was wary. The rich man was very much sober, no glossed over look, no tiredness,no, he was none of those things. He was just as intrigued by her as she had been by him.

Like her, he was also wearing a mask, an invisible disguise that only they, themselves, saw.

Normally, she would never allow herself to question what she should do next, but right now, seeing his dark eyes watching her, it felt as if one wrong move could end her. In a normal situation, this would be perfect to speak but seeing as women surrounded him, their arms linked into his, one kissing his neck, that wouldn't be smart.

She needed him to come to her. Just like with the old man, she needed to be in control of the situation. Somehow, she wasn't sure if with him, that would be possible.

Besides, she needed to go. There would always be another chance.

Splack! "Waaah!" This was definitely not expected. Michiru fell backwards as a worker fell into her, knocking their full wine glass bottle out of their grasp. She twisted her body like a cat as she caught the falling glass bottle. Even so, even with all her reflexes, she couldn't stop the wine from flying into her hair and covering Bruce's face and white dress shirt.

Silence. Utterly nothing but silence. The music stopped. It felt like she had slipped out of real life and into a movie where these kind of things happened. Sailor Neptune never made hiccups. No, in fact, she only made changes of plans, but she never made mistakes.

"Gomen," she said, unable to stop herself, apologizing, "nassai." And, for whatever reason, the only thing she could do was speak in her native language, saying sorry.

He raised an eyebrow, staring at her oceanic blue eyes and green hair that made her seem possibly rebellious but her voice said something different. He had been reading lips all night so he knew that she spoke perfect English.

Flustered, without another word, Michiru picked herself up off of him, put down the wine glass onto his table and walked off towards the bathroom.

If there was one thing that both the Bat and planetary warrior had in common, it was their need to make everything go according to their plan.

However, in that moment, neither were quite that prepared. Even so, even at that moment, they both knew what mask they would wear after the initial embarrassment wore off.


	2. Chapter 1: That Day, Our Mask Fell Off

**Author's Note: **For Sailor Moon fans, the story is mostly based on the manga version of the characters while it mixes parts of the storyline and parts of the personalities of all other versions of the media.

Usagi is fully based on her manga personality which was much more mature than the anime counterpart.

**Dedication**: Miss Scorp, you're awesome! Thanks for the Batman information!

**Chapter: **_ That Day, Our Mask Fell Off_

**Three Years Ago**

**Justice League Headquarters**

**Court Session**

Standing accused was a young girl with long, strange blonde pigtails with large innocent blue eyes. Though she was in her mid twenties, she had this look that suggested she didn't understand what was going on around her.

She was Oriental but looked European which was the first thing that had caught Bruce's attention when he was looking up people who would know something about the one named Sailor Moon.

**Human Name: **_Usagi Tsukino_

**Alias (True form): **_Sailor Moon/Princess Serenity, future queen of Earth_

**Crime: **_Wanting to take over the entire Earth_

Superman watched, unsure of the entire situation. His dark blue eyes stayed intent on Batman and Wonderwoman, the two who stood over this momentous occasion. They were standing before Sailor Moon, the one that his father had said that there were prophecies that she would become Queen of the entire Earth.

In Krypton, during his father's time, the people talked much about the prophecies of a kingdom far, far away where the queen had supposedly, in her dying breaths, reincarnated her child and court onto the Earth in another time. Of course, even to them, it was just a legend, but now, he was standing before the legendary princess of that kingdom.

Looking at her, now, he doubted the stories. This small girl was actually from a kingdom of the moon, had enough power to blow up galaxies and would one day rule as Neo Queen Serenity. There were many issues with that that went far beyond anything he could think of at that moment.

She claimed that now that she was almost twenty four years old, her memories from thousands of years ago had all come back, With those recollections, there came wisdom, a knowledge that far outweighed the close-minded minds of humans who could only live until seventy if they were lucky.

It was clear that what she said was true because despite her appearances, when she spoke, there was a distance between her, them, and the world that they were fighting for. In many of their opinions, Superman included, she sounded like an invading Alien.

"I'm sorry, but there are things that I don't understand." She repeated herself for the upteenth time today.

Batman clenched his teeth.

Though this was supposed to be like a court system, there were some clear problems with it. For one, the accused-she was on all accounts guilty before coming to trial and secondly, their jury hated her stance with every ounce of their beings. She was viewed as a terrorist, which, in many ways, they were right.

"Haven't you killed enemies for wanting to do the same thing, Sailor Moon?" The bat asked, making a point.

"My family calls me Usagi Tsukino," the blonde said softly. Scratching the back of her head, it was clear that she didn't know how to answer.

There was silence for a moment as they waited for her to speak. Guiltily, she looked away.

"I have, but they were different. Their plans were evil, and I don't plan anything bad for the people of our world," Sailor Moon practically pleaded to deaf ears, tears in her eyes. "I don't understand what I've done wrong."

It wasn't so much what she had done wrong; that wasn't it at all. It was the idea of one nation that would be the center of the world's government, a world where this young, immature girl would be queen. The idea that they would give up their world so easily to this girl, that was preposterous.

"Princess, where are all of your other friends?" Superman asked in his kindest voice.

Her eyes steeled at the question. "I've let you have me, isn't that enough?" The Kryptonite knew that she knew that better.

She had come without even so much as a fight and even now, she hadn't even tried to go against them. For whatever reason, she believed that they could understand one another.

"Then tell your friends that you're letting go of this idea of your totalitarian government!"

Sailor Moon's eyes widened. "No, I can't do that!" She refused to listen to their reason as much as they didn't want to hear her take up for her future government. "Under my rule, this world will be at peace, and humans will be able to live for a thousand years. They will be happy, and I will protect them. You can all have norm-"

She had seen the future, been there, met her future daughter. Crystal Tokyo would bring so much more to them, and they, the Justice League, could finally rest. Isn't this what everyone wanted? The White Moon Kingdom's court would protect mankind, and their power will be restored to what it had been as warriors of the Silver Millenium.

"How do you know that?" Wonderwoman interrupted, her hand on her hip.

"I-I just know.." She faltered. How could she express her heart to them so that they could understand? There was more than just a cultural barrier between them!

"Do you understand what we will do to keep this prophecy from coming true?" Batman's grim voice shook her very foundation. Her hands were shaking and her legs were trembling.

"I've seen my future and because of that," Usagi's eyes darkened. A storm cloud brewed within her. "I have a child that is waiting for me. You may not be able to understand this, but I know her. I've held her in my arms. I have a husband and friends that are waiting for that future... where I can live with him, my prince.. in a world where I can keep him for all eternity."

Her shaking finally stopped. "If you can't understand that, I will also do whatever it is in my power to stop you. Crystal Tokyo will come to pass!"

**Present Day**

**Children's Miracle Fundraiser**

**Professor Ludwig Residence**

**Metropolis**

New dress, check. Face and made up? Check. Hair needing to be shampooed? Unfortunately, a check. Michiru stared at the mirror image of a woman who had lived thousands of years before the common era, a woman who viewed herself like a queen, a powerful one but knew deep within, she was just a girl underneath it all.

That man, Bruce, he was trifling. Yes, he had to be for her to be distracted by him enough for this to happen.

There was a knock at the door. No doubt that it was him. Only a man of his stature would walk past the bathrooms to the changing room for the performers. Only he had enough power that no security guard, in their right mind, would question him. In fact, they and any paparazzi around would assume that his following her could only mean one thing: the billionaire was having an affair with the violinist, Michiru Kaioh.

She didn't mind the attention. Furthermore, she was sure that he didn't care about that either.

The knock came again.

"Coming." She moved away from the mirror, placing her most beautiful smile on her face. It had always been a gift to be able to hide her emotions. For years, her mother and father didn't know about her life with Haruka until she told them that she was moving to Tokyo with her. They read between the lines.

Of course, after reading between those lines, they also disowned her.

He opened the door rather than waiting. Bruce Wayne was more like her than she thought; he wanted to be in control.

Her eyes widened as a smile came across her face. "The prince isn't supposed to look for Cinderella until after the dance." She mused as she walked over to him. The man hadn't even tried to clean the mess that she wasted upon him. "Did you come here to get an apology?"

"That would be rather presumptuous of me, wouldn't it?"

Answering a question with another question. Good tactic. "Guess I was wrong about the men in America." Michiru tied her long wavy hair into bun, closing her eyes.

"Why were you watching me?" His tone was different. His mask was off. He was in control.

Michiru walked over to him, her smile unfading, her mask perfectly fitting. "Let's dance. Just for tonight, I can be your Cinderella. When the clock strikes twelve, I have to go."

He raised an eyebrow as she came so close that he could feel the heat of her body radiating into his.

"One dance, please and I won't tell those girls that the wine bottle you brought here wasn't just ginger ale."

Bruce's face softened. "How'd you figure that out?"

Michiru didn't answer. Answering would give him back his power, the control she longed for, but rather, extended her hand. "Shall we?"

**Unknown Building**

**Gotham City**

Ami always believed that every moment had a reason and a purpose, that God was kind and full of justice. Karma was real and an actuating force so if one did good, work hard, that person would get it back tenfold; if bad, then the opposite would occur.

It was the "circle of life," 'the eternal truth," something that was undeniable, growing up.

In school, she had always been the hardest worker, always topped national charts with her grades, did everything possible to stay at the top and always willing to help her friends with a smile.

Looking back, no-she couldn't do that. There was no time to be looking back. Doubting her own beliefs, the very core of who she was and what kept her going, that would destroy her, er, what was left of her.

Ami turned her head to the right and saw a handsome Italian man, looking back at her, his bright green eyes brought out by his dark luscious curls. He had this way of looking at her as if he could see right through her and while it put her on edge, she couldn't say that she didn't like it. Quickly, she looked away, blushing.

That anxiety, she loved it. It was like taking a test, not knowing how to approach it but slowly figuring it out, seeing the pattern. It invigorated her.

"Miss Mizuno," his rich deep voice called her out of her thoughts as she turned to him, grabbed the tea kettle and brought it over to him. "You seem in a daze today? Is everything okay?"

She loved his voice, but she hated that despite how well she did in English in her Japanese public school, it was practically useless here. It was hard to understand people when they didn't have a Japanese accent and they spoke it. "I-I'm fine." She caught the last part of what he said. "Would you like some tea, Mr. Leonardo?"

Leonardo's full lips turned upwards. He had the smile of the Devil, himself, beautiful and majestic yet behind all that, vile.

While it couldn't be said that she was a bad liar, it could be said that her face said everything that her words didn't. Knowing that to be true, she turned away, unsure if he would read her and see things that she didn't want seen.

Despite her instincts, Ami stayed with him and his associates, never questioned what they were up to even if she knew that deep in her heart that Rei-chan would scorn her and their princess would cry if they knew what she had been doing. No one knew what she did for work since they moved together in the states.

They may have lived in the same high-end condominium, awaited a similar destiny-a world of peace where Neo Queen Serenity (as Usagi would then be called) will rule and humans will live for one thousand, they couldn't have lived more separate lives. Everyone had changed; their goals and what they sought for no longer the same.

Ami had wanted to be a doctor, just like her mother. She wanted to heal people, save them as a civilian and as a hero, she wanted to be useful to everyone. Instead, she was lying, living a double life. She had so many jobs that she wasn't even sure of the count any more. Most were legal and the others, well, they paid... if she didn't ask, she didn't know and ignorance was bliss. At least, that's what she told herself.

The problem was that she moved to America, thinking that what she learned in school was enough. When her second year of high school came, she had been offered a scholarship to go to a university in Germany and like any smart girl who is smart enough to know better than to think a situation any better could come up, she took it.

Left Tokyo and all her friends and moved to Germany, two years later, she heard that Rei had left her temple and also went overseas to Oxford University where she and Minako became roommates.

Minako was definitely not there for college. With her GPA, it would probably be illegal to even look at a pamphlet for a college.

Apparently, Rei's father wanted his daughter to leave the shrine maiden business and make him look good by going to one of the greatest schools in the world. He would only pay for the temple to stay open and for her grandfather's medical bills if she listened and so she left and never came back.

Ami was sure there was more to that story than what she let on but never questioned her. It wasn't like Rei would talk about it anyways. It was through Minako and the girl's talking, during her absence, that the blue-haired woman learned of this.

Leonardo stood up and immediately one of the workers walked over and placed something on the table. A plate, no too many pieces... definitely not a gun, not loud enough nor are the pieces big enough. He touched her arm, his warm hand on her cold skin caused her to shudder, ther feeling came back again. "Do you want to play a game?"

Ami turned and smiled gently. "Game?" She asked, still not looking back at the table, still afraid of allowing him to see her for who she really is. "I-I've never been very good at games." Lie. A big lie. At Crown Parlor, the arcade that she and her friends would go to, the very first time that she played the hardest game there, she had gotten the highest score ever. It would have been higher if she would have kept playing.

"Chess..." He refuted as if the one word could change everything. "Don't you like mind games?"

She turned to see the worker, Dante, setting it up. He was a light skinned black man, always by Leonardo's side, and never part of the dirtier business. In fact, he and Ami were sent out whenever the boss had something going down that he didn't want seen.

Seeing him there comforted her.

"I cannot say that I do not."

The Italian man laughed heartily. "I don't understand a word out of you, Japs."

Ami didn't like being referred to as a "Jap" but said nothing to show for it. However, it wasn't even that word that bothered her most. No, it was what he said. He didn't understand a word out of her mouth. She knew she was speaking English the best she could. However, unlike Minako, she didn't know the dialect. That was something they didn't teach in school, and it was the reason that despite her diplomas and her genius IQ, she was not good enough in America to be a doctor.

'_To be frank, it's bad enough that you're a female, but how will a patient feel if they don't quite understand what you are saying?'_

Over and over, she went to different hospitals, throwing in applications. They would see her resume and ask for an interview, but then when she got there, the disappointment in their faces were easier read than a children's book.

'_You're overqualified...'_

Lines like that were just nice ways of saying that despite the qualifications, they don't like you. She found herself angry and wanting to cry and blaming Minako because unlike her, she didn't have that huge personality. She couldn't win people over with a bubbly personality or by conversation.

Ami sat down after she watched Leonardo make his move. It was easy to see what he would do next; he was smart but she was smarter. The game kept her mind off everything; it relieved her of the stress for only a moment as she forgot that she was going against her boss and playing as if she were playing in a tournament.

"Your tactics are impressive."

Ami looked up and smiled. "Arigatou." Her face turned red. She hadn't meant to say 'thank you' in Japanese. Not around him.

Leonardo chuckled. "Miss Mizuno, you really are something. My father would love you." His creuelly beautiful green eyes peered into her oceanic blue eyes. "Work for me and only me and i will make your salary five times more."

Ami's eyes widened as she looked away, afraid to say no to the deal. The young woman wasn't even sure how he knew about the other jobs; she hadn't told him. Those jobs were to keep the appearance that she was getting paid a brain surgeon's wages. Even then, it wasn't enough, but nobody saw her paycheck but her and as long as she paid her part in the rent, no one cared. "Leo-I'm not sur-"

"What's not to be sure about?" He snapped his finger, and Dante carefully moved the game board away from the table, making sure to put each piece as it had been before.

Leo stood up and walked over to where she was sitting and leaned down to her height, the smell of cologne enticing, his eyelashes making his eyes even more pronounced and with the air conditioner on, his hair seemed to flow like some movie scene. "I want to have you here with me... all the time, I need your expertise. I need you."

Ami's face couldn't have gone any redder. He needed her-out of all people? The young woman loved feeling needed; it was what kept her going in the morning, the idea that she could be needed for something, anything.

"If my father, Tony Zucco, had someone like you around, he wouldn't be in the mess that he is in now... Miss Ami Mizuno, my little pretty Jap, will you stay here with me-work only for me?"

Everything inside of her said to be smart, follow your morals, do something to show that you're not weak enough to fall so low.

Well, everything but her heart.

Leonardo grasped her hand, his eyes begging, his face close enough to kiss her.

Ami could only nod as she signed a deal with the Devil.

**Ai no Grayson Bar**

**Dick Grayson's Bar (Officially Owned)**

**Outskirts of Gotham City**

"Wassup Mina?" Dick yawned as he walked into the bar, not surprised in the slightest that she was on top of a stool, screaming at the top of her lungs about how the Raiders suck.

One man stared up her skirt as she unintentionally gave him a peep show. Then again, Dick wasn't quite sure that she would care enough to jump down if she knew. The blonde haired Japanese woman was a beauty, but a tomboy to boot.

At first glance, he'd never thunk it, but the once sidekick never claimed to be the best judge of character. "Yo Mina, can you back here for a minute?"

"Hm?" The girl turned around, her sky blue eyes brighter than any morning that he could remember. "Hey Big Dick, how'd it go today at your other job?"

He hated that nickname, but he laughed it off. "It was good, but that Chinese girl that I was telling you about, she keeps... ugh, I wish I never hired her."

Mina jumped off the stool, landed onto a regular's lap then without ever apologizing, got up and went behind the counter. It was a normal day occurrence for her to cause more trouble than she worked. It didn't bother him none. She kept the place even more interesting than it already was. And the usuals, they didn't care too much at all. She fit in with everyone else.

"Yeah, Big Dick," another usual said, a gay man that worked at the tranny bar that usually came in on Wednesdays when Ned worked. Today, Ned called off and all he had was Dick to pester. He said his name was Sally, but Mina and the boy wonder had their doubts. "I hear there's a girl that's caught your fancy, sweet buns."

Mina smiled lightly. "Who is she, anyways? Want me to handle her?" She placed her hand on her little bicep, trying to be intimidating, but it came off as rather comedic and almost cute.

"I keep trying to speak Chinese to her, and she keeps looking at me like I'm crazy!" The handsome, broad shouldered man exclaimed as he looked down at his phone, slightly embarrassed, noticing a text message. "Oh, that's her, now."

Mina leaned over, trying to be sneaky but failing miserably, his eyes watching her. The name only read "AGRH."

"Isn't 'argh' spelled A-R-G-H?"

Dick looked at her, wondering why she even tried to be sneaky if she was going to reveal what she did the next second later. "It's a pseudonym. I'm not actually spelling anything."

Mina pouted. "I told you about my first five thousand and one first loves, right?"

"No, why?" He asked as he took a towel and started cleaning the bar of the grime and liquor left from the early shift workers. Then again, it could've been Mina who had made the mess, but he wasn't going to mull it over in his head. "W-wait, what do you mean, your first five thousand and one first loves? You can only have one first love."

"No, if you fall in love more the next time, that would have to be your first love!" She retorted angrily.

Sally pursed his lips and giggled. "Am I one of those first loves, dearie?" His elongated face looked even uglier under his heavy eye make-up though Minako had to admit, she liked his lip color.

"Of course!" Mina screamed, her tone overly excited and nearly pierced Dick's eardrums. "You're just so cute, Sally... and by far, you're the cutest drag queen I've ever met. I thought you were a girl, and I was into chicks, I would totally wanna do you!"

Sally's face changed shades, hearing the faux-compliment. Mina had an incredible people personality that pulled people in and sucked their pockets dry. She could make the greatest lie into what sounded like the greatest truth.

"Oh gosh, dearie, if I was into girls, you'd totally be my type. Ned is a blonde like you too," Sally gushed. He had no issues of telling people that he was in love with Ned despite it only being one-sided. The drag queen knew that he would never leave his family and children for him, and that he was clearly not into men.

Ned may be a known player and took many females into the back for a quickie, but no one could ever say that he took a man back there. He had tried to take Mina there, but Dick heard a high pitched scream that didn't come from her and that was that. He never touched her again.

"Geez, that Chinese girl, the one that I want to fire, she's coming here. Apparently, Mr. Fox sent her because she was coming to this side of town, and I left something at the office."

Mina turned to look at him. Despite his words, the smile on his face said something different. He was, indeed, excited for her to come and see him in this environment. Her eyes darkened; she was sure that she knew who he was talking about-the subject of every man who had met her. "Do you want me to meet her outside to retrieve what you left?"

Dick smiled. "No, it's fine." His reaction was all she wanted. "I want her to see her boss's other life."

Mina turned on her heel, suddenly disinterested in the game that had a larger Wednesday crowd than usual. "I'll go clean the bathrooms." No one ever cleaned those things that they called the restroom, but with her impending frustration, it would look brand new spanking new. Besides, if she thought it was who she thought it was, that judgmental girl would scorn her anyways for working in such an environment.

"E-eh, you are?" Dick raised an eyebrow as he watched her grab a bunch of cleaning supplies (some that he didn't even know they had) and walked off. "But the game is on... you're gonna miss the final quarter?'

It was unwritten rule that if one needed to use the restroom, they either used it before they got here or go across the street to the mini-mart, buy something for cheap so that they could use the restroom. Most of the time, unless an health inspector was coming, it was locked or had some sign, saying that it was under repairs.

The problem was, he had it cleaned before the last inspector came, but not wanting it to be dirtied, he kept the sign up that it was unavailable for use. Of course, that didn't stop some drunks for using for about a month, missing the toilet completely and peeing on the rim, walls, and sometimes, on the ceiling.

More drinks passed, more alcohol in customers systems, the louder the bar became. Even after the game was over, some were still yelling at the tv, unaware that it had been over. Most, however, talked to Dick about their problems. He didn't mind it. It came with the job, getting to know the customers.

He knew about Big Riley's obsession with his wife's sister and how his wife couldn't trust him, and about Youko Dono' s job that he hates and how he secretly spits in his boss's coffee every morning because his boss slept with his wife but because of his lack of education and abilities, being a secretary to that hateful man was all he could do.

Mick-John Romney Johnson, an older black man with bulbous nose and dark freckles all over his face, built like a bodybuilder, walked over. He had the greatest poker face in the world when he was drunk, a man that hardly changed but it only became evident because he would suddenly talk about his baby brother. They, apparently, had no relationship since he moved from the West Coast to the East Coast.

"Yo MJ, what's up?" He was probably going to ask for another drink. The way he answered would tell Dick whether he could go ahead and give him his request.

"Argh," well, that was a new response. Mick looked up and smiled sadly as he threw an arm around the shoulder of Sally, "my little brother, he has been arrested. Twice, man.. Twice in the same month."

Dick nodded as he watched MJ move his cup closer to him, It was his usual way of showing that he wanted more to drink.

Giving MJ the look, the man didn't even bothering trying to argue him down about it. He knew very well that he would lose that argument.

"You remind me of him, you know that?" Mick had a tendency to compare the bartender and his brother a lot. "Real good kid, like you... but he needs direction. Ain't had no daddy growin' up, ya know?" he said, his tone low and thoughtful.

Sally pursed his lips sadly. "I'm sure he is going to be fine. You're his brother so I'm sure he'll be okay." the effeminate man consoled, tears in his eyes. His dramatics were good for MJ's sad stories about his brother. It was probably the only reason that they ever talked.

The dark haired bartender stared at his wristwatch, watching the time, wondering what time that his employee from Wayne Inc. would make it there. The bar seemed as if it were at its peak of craziness, the loudness going above even the Saturday crew,

He sat there, waiting. Most people that were inside now were more there for the conversation and drunken talk, the closest that they would get to Dr. Phil in real life, barely getting any drinks. He nicknamed everyday at this job, and he rightfully called Wednesdays, "Oprah and Phil's folks day." The people who came in on Wednesday were the mid-week drama peoples.

He turned to the right where he could see Mina finally come out from cleaning through the restrooms. She turned to the left and walked behind the main bar where she often kept a backpack of an extra change of clothes. When she came out, she was wearing a form-fitting white t-shirt and tight jeans, showing off every curve, getting a few stares when she walked out to where the customers sat.

Dick was about to say something to her but stopped upon seeing his visitor finally come inside. It was strange how the bar quieted upon her appearance; she had that kind of of aura, the kind of person that made people nervous without saying a word.

Mina turned to see who had come in as a solemn smile came across her face. It shouldn't have surprised her that she could command such a silence when she walked into a room. Some things never changed.

Rei Hino had always had the air of aristocracy and always had this thing about her that people wanted to understand. In Mina's opinion, she was a real-life Mary Sue with her ability to entrap a man inside her web without even trying.

"Xia wu hao!" Dick suddenly yelled out to which the girl looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Good evening, Mr. Grayson." the girl said, a smile on her face.

"Rei-chan!" Mina jumped up and ran over to her, grabbing onto her hands, "Don't tell me that Big Dick thought you were Chinese all this time."

The ravenette dodged her and walked over to her boss, handing him a suitcase. "I didn't know that you talk about me." she whispered softly, her glossed soft lips being watched by the bartender.

Rei's face turned red as she looked at him, trying to understand why he felt it was necessary to try to speak in that language to her all that time when she clearly spoke English. "I guess I should return the favor and speak Greek to him, eh, Minako-chan?"

Mina pouted.

Dick smiled, "Actually, it would still be English... or Scottish."

Mina sat down, watching them. It was so like Rei to have the entire bar's attention on her. Even Sally seemed nervous when she took a seat next to him. Why couldn't she just be a normal girl like everyone else? The only other person that she knew that had that much control over her audience was Michiru, but Rei was different.

She didn't need to flirt, didn't even have to want it, it just happened. Even away from Japan, where no one cared about her status as the governor's daughter, a place where no one knew she was the psychic priestess from the Sendai Hill temple, she captivated people. Mina hated that. The Venusian warrior never had an issue with saying it, but lately, it became harder.

She watched Dick who was blushing, loving every moment of her being there although his stories about her had always been negative, had always been about how she never followed his rules.

"Excuse me, Mr. Grayson," Rei finally said, pointing to the television, "could you turn it up, please?"

Mina mimicked her under her breath.

There was a video of Batman on tape on the television. It had been something taken a few months prior, a video footage that they'd been showing for awhile. Rei had a huge interest in the story.

"That's pretty cool that they caught him on tape, eh?" Dick tried to keep the conversation going, er, what little conversation he felt they were having.

"That's not Batman." The dark haired priestess refuted.

The bartender stared at her back incredulously. What was she talking about? It was clearly him on tv. Frowning, he leaned into the counter, blowing her hair away her ear. "And why do you say that?"

Turning to him, she almost seemed nervous to answer, searching his eyes as if she were trying to understand what he meant. After apparently getting her answers, she turned away, "His fighting style, it's different."

"Wha?"

"It's the same outfit and someone well-trained, but that's not Batman. His movements are more sporadic... almost like-uh, never mind. It may just be my imagination."

Dick frowned. She was right. That was definitely not the real batman; he knew that better than anyone else, but how could she tell? "Is that a bad thing?" He asked, washing some cups, waiting for her answer.

The video was from the time after Bane had hurt Bruce, and he had taken mantle over for him. He tried to emulate his fighting style though he had never seen it as being all that different; Bruce was the man that had trained him.

"No, it's nothing like that." Rei said thoughtfully as she watched the third man pay for a drink for her to which she quietly thanked and noted to Dick that it needed to be 'virgin' unlike Mina who could drink with the best of them. "This Batman, he is graceful; his movements are like a swordsman, Each move is purposeful and like he wants to prove something. I feel like he wants to entertain and prove something as much as he wishes to protect the ones he loves the most."

Dick frowned slightly. "How is that different from normal Batman?"

Rei looked up. "I pity the other Batman. He seems much more confused and angry. He's as scared as he is angry."

"Maybe he visited my bar before he went into the streets to do his usual duties?"

The usually somber priestess giggled. "Maybe so." Looking over at him, she sighed, "That would mean that you probably know him, personally."

Dick chuckled. If only she knew. "That'd be cool, right?"

Rei's eyes narrowed playfully as she drank her virgin drink. "You're not that cool." Her words were smoother than butter and as sincere as she was joking.

Mina laughed. "Big Dick is so cool that his nickname even says so..." She watched her best friend's eyebrow twitch at her joke, trying to pretend to ignore her. "Some girls that he's messed with say that he may even be mixed with black..." The blonde wanted to see the calm girl throw up or even toss the glass through the air, but unfortunately, the only thing she got was a glare.

Although the story wasn't true in any shape or form, Dick didn't bother trying to correct her. She kept talking, another man started paying for another drink for the pretty girl who walked in who casually mentioned that she wanted soda instead, Dick listened but the tab was still up as if he had ordered the expensive drink he asked for.

"So, I was looking at his phone when you texted him, it totally says AGRH, I was trying to-" It was unfortunately that which seemed to piss Rei off rather than anything else that she had said.

"Hey idiot," Rei said, casually, her voice calm and sweet, but her eyes steeled. "Why is that still my name on your phone?"

The boy wonder glared at the blonde, mentally reminding himself to go over things that cannot be said to others when this girl left. "What are you talking about now, pretty lady?"

The dark-haired woman crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't like how you refuse to call me by name and those stupid nicknames you've given us at the office and in your phone."

"Well, then, if you have such a problem then quit." Dick retorted, keeping the same even tone as she had kept.

Mina watched in interest. They looked like a married couple arguing in front of their children. "_What does it stand for, Rei-chan?_" She was speaking in Japanese.

"_Oh, don't play innocent, you troublemaker!" _Rei shot back vehemently. Even in Japanese, he could that she was proper. "Change it now, you racist pig. AGRH... stands for Asian Girl Rei Hino, doesn't it?"

"N-No! Stop being paranoid... I just misspelled ARGH!"

"You spelled it out originally then showed me-and couldn't understand why I got pissed."

Dick backed up, a smile on his face. He liked the arguments with her. It was proof that he wasn't just some scrap that she had to deal with on a normal day basis. "I still don't get it. Everyone is named after what character I think fits them most."

Rei scowled. "Oh and that stupid paper that I saw in your office with the imaginary play that you imagine is going on around the office... I mean, really?!"

"Well, at least, you're more than just "the asian girl," now... now, "the hot girl," "the girl I want to fire," and..."

"What's your relationship with her?" Mina asked, her blue eyes lighting up which only meant more trouble.

"He's my boss/She's in love with me." They responded at the same time.

"You make it sound so boring."

Rei tapped her fingers on the counter, impatiently. "What gives you any idea that I will ever look at you like that?"

"You do." His response sounded so infuriatingly honest. "You care too much."

Mina grabbed one of Rei's free drinks that had been given her and drank some, not knowing that they were all alcohol-free. Looking at her best friend spitefully, she poured the virgin drink into the sink, disappointed. No confessions from her tonight. "What makes you believe that she's in love with you, BIg Dick?"

"We kissed at the holiday party... a few months ago."

Rei's face turned completely red. "There was mistletoe, and I happened to not notice it when I was talking to him. Mr. Wayne pointed it out, and I was too nervous to ignore what he said back then."

"You walked away from everybody else when it was pointed out to you that there was mistletoe. Your face looked really cute, though."

"Mistletoe. Kisses. Don't. Count. In. Real. Life."

With Rei, Minako imagined, despite her words, it probably would. It wasn't like she ever had a boyfriend-and she doubted that he was lying even if his tone was joking; his words made the calm girl nervous, more so than usual.

"Then why didn't you move?"

Rei paused. She couldn't say that, not in front of them. Or she could, it would probably stop his constant reminder of their kiss that meant absolutely nothing. "Mr. Connor Kent had come in, and I was distracted."

He was about to respond, retort something good but stopped. Why did Bruce have to go on a hiring spree when he hired him also? It was proof that he was going insane if someone asked him even if he knew Superboy was hired to keep him in check.

"Is that so?" He didn't know what else to say.

Connor and Rei were almost always together. It may have had something to do with being partners working on the same project, but they were both in a five person group; it wasn't like he had seen them with others.

There was a long silence between the two of them as the priestess skimmed through her phone nonchalantly then decided to get up. Flipping her hair, she bowed and thanked both of them for dealing with her then walked outside.

Asking Minako to hold the fort, Dick quickly caught up with her.

"Yo, I'll take you home," he mumbled when he got close to where she was standing.

Rei sighed. "The taxi already paid for my ride here."

Dick threw an arm around her shoulder to which she instinctively removed it. "Why would you want a ride from a pervert who paid for your ride? Surely, you don't think he's not going to want something for his payment, do you?"

Rei turned to him, the street lights filtering through on him, his blue eyes almost seemed to glow in the dark. "What makes you so different?" she asked.

"When you kissed me, my eyes were open."

The ravenette turned to him, eyebrow quirked, her attention focused on him. "Who were you thinking about?"

He sauntered over to her, his dark blue eyes staring into her violet eyes, his lips curved into an all-knowing smirk. "If it wasn't you, would you be jealous?"

"Maybe?"

Dick watched her carefully. It was strange to see her outside of the workplace; it almost felt as if she were unsure of herself when she wasn't working, like a scared girl. At work, she was on fire, ready for the next assignment, fierce and a leader; the priestess looked like a princess drill sergeant and it was funny and interesting.

"Actually," she raised a finger to her lip in thought, looking away from him. "I do... need to talk to you about something."

"Please, not about work."

"No, nothing like that." Taking out her phone, she typed in a code and handed it over to him. There was a picture on it of a man, a very familiar face but for some reason, the boy wonder couldn't place it. "Do you know him?"

Dick looked back, confused. Should he know him? The way that she looked reminded him of Bruce-like some detective. "Who is he?"

Rei grabbed the phone back from him. "No one, apparently,... if you don't recognize him." Her little secret would have to be kept hushed for a little longer. Still, she trusted Dick more than the fire wielding soldier would like to admit. "He says that he knows Bruce, that's all."

The young man only wanted to get close to him. The look in his eyes scared her because they reminded her of herself. It was the same look she had when her father told her to leave Japan and her grandfather. The priestess could remember arguing with him, saying that he was asking her to leave all that was precious to her.

'Rei-chan, I just want the best for you.'

A lie. He always lied.

'Rei-chan, I fear that you'll be lonely if I leave you there with how your grandfather's health is going.'

Rei could remember running home from his office, crying the whole time, her cellphone ringing over and over and that night, for the first time in a long time, she tried to overdose. The young girl wanted him to suffer and see that he actually cared.

Those eyes she saw on that boy, it reminded her of what she looked like that day, in the mirror, the girl who didn't care, the girl who was lost and wanted to die.

Jason Todd was her little secret. `Even the other sailor senshi knew nothing about him; she refused to allow anyone to know about him. He lived in her home, a place that she made sure to keep quiet from all of them for she was sure that if they got wind of it, she would lose her sanctuary away from them.

She was also sure that with their interest in her boss, the young man would be in danger. Every week, she visited for a few hours, feeling like a visitor to her own home. It was technically her father's house that he owned when he travelled abroad but he gave her the power over anything that had to deal with it.

Every week, she asked him questions and he, too, would ask her questions then she would pay him to stay there and not leave until she could ensure everything was okay.

"Are we going to have that talk?" Dick broke her out of her thoughts.

Rei nodded, not sure of what to talk about now that he answered her question. "Yes. I'm sorry. Where would you like to talk then?" she asked, smiling.

There it was again, that feeling like he was talking to Bruce. "Inside my bar, then."

"No, I would prefer Minako-chan to see or hear us talking."

"-Chan?" He rubbed his chin in thought. All of his studies of Chinese and looking up the word "chan," and the only thing that he got was Jackie Chan. It seemed like a boyish nickname for her even if she was a bit of a free-spirited tomboy. "Jackie Chan?"

"Jackie?" Rei looked up at him, interest piqued. "Is she a pretty girl or something?"

"Not as pretty as you..." he joked. It was clear that she didn't follow pop culture.

Pouting, Rei glared softly. "I don't get it."

Dick laughed to himself, entertaining himself. It was nice to see her not knowing how to respond to things. At work, it was almost like she took every chance to prove he was wrong and embarrass him. "We can go to my house if you'd like..." he suggested, figuring she'd say no, being as she was quite difficult.

"Will it just be you and I?"

"Y-yeah."

"Okay..." There was a pause as she looked over at her taxi, apparently thinking it over. "Do you have tea there?" she asked.

That was a strange question. "I can stop and get some."

"Good," with that one phrase, she walked away and told the taxi to leave. Looking back at him, the pout was gone and with a look of complacency, she walked back over to him. "Let's go, then."

"Tea," Dick chuckled, "is that all you need to be persuaded?"

Rei smiled, a light in her eyes that he wasn't aware she had. It was strange, and yet it seemed so fitting for her. For the first time, since he had met her, she seemed genuine. "I guess so..." she raised a finger to her lips, pretending to hush him, "don't tell anybody though."

"We're having an office meeting tomorrow morning. I'm telling everyone and their mama."

For just one moment, they looked at each other, frowned bitterly and then just started laughing, neither one knowing why. Nothing had actually been said that was all that funny, and even if someone were to ask, neither would be able to explain it. In that one moment, for whatever reason, their guards came down.

Even in their joyous sounds, they could feel each other's masking come onto one another, the mask of laughter that hid away tears that they locked inside from the world.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed it.

Please review. Tell me you liked, didn't like... and how I can improve!


	3. Everyone Wears A Mask: Forgetting

**Wayne Family Gravesite**

**Gotham City**

The church bells had been ringing so beautifully the day that she had gotten the message that ripped her guts out and threw her in a frenzy that she couldn't get out of. The sun seemed to be smiling down, not even a droplet of rain to intensify the emotion that would harken from the within her.

The marketplace had the best sales, and the economy had went sky high that day as if they were trying to trick Haruka into believing that it was a good day. And, she had believed it until she heard the news that Damian Wayne was dead. She was in her car, racing to get to him, hoping to take him to meet some of her fellow race car driving buddies, knowing how much the swearing, violent little boy had wanted to be doing the same thing as she did when he grew up.

Even now, as she stood over his grave, a month later, the Earth didn't stop revolving around the sun, and despite the hurt in her heart, the anguish that sliced her heart open, this pain that had to cause internal bleeding, she was still alive. Haruka couldn't run away from this-even, as much as she wanted to.

She hadn't hurt this bad in so long that she had forgotten what it felt like. No, that was a lie. She had only masked the hurt away, and ran away from it. It had been only a few years when she was ripped away from her adoptive daughter and her closest friends, and their princess. It had only been a few years ago when she had to lie to her daughter and tell her that everything was going to be okay when she and Michiru had to leave Japan and come to Gotham.

Turning around, she saw his father, Bruce Wayne. He was waiting with a group of people that had been at the funeral-there hadn't been very many who showed up and so it was easy to recognize the faces. They were standing with him, but only now did she recognize them when they were standing together.

Her face contorted angrily, and her muscles tensed up. They were the same ones who ripped her away from her daughter, the same damn ones who accused Usagi of being a terrorist, the same ones that forced her to lose her entire family. She couldn't react here, not right now. She couldn't lose it-not in front of his gravesite.

'_Haruka, you're such an idiot!;_

His young pre-teen voice repeated in her head over and over.

'_Man, Haruka, you can be so dull..'_

Tears fell from her eyes, and it felt like she would die. Why couldn't his voice go away, stop keeping her up at night?

'_Haruka, don't forget me... and don't hate me. I know I'm bad sometimes... I know I'm...'_

She broke down, remembering how she held him in her arms, kissed his hair, telling him to never think like that. Even now, even after all the secrets and all the stupid things, she couldn't hate him. He was her little boy even if she never said-even if he didn't have a drop of her blood in him. That was her little boy.

"This... wasn't supposed to happen." Her deep, masculine voice barked, anger boiling within her.

The tallest one walked forward, the beautiful male from that time in Tokyo-with piercing blue eyes and high cheekbones, standing over six feet tall, the kind alien who played good cop, pretending to care. She had never cared to remember his name. "Nobody should have to die," he said, his eyes meeting her own.

He had forgotten her.

"Especially a young child," said the tall woman beside him, another hypocrite. Haruka bit her lip so hard that blood trickled down. Her mind went back to Hotaru-in those final moments in Tokyo, her baby girl who had done nothing wrong.

"He was my son." The final hypocrite moved forward.

Even without his mask, Haruka recognized him. Even more than the others, she recognized him because everyday, up until that very moment, she dreamt of killing him, seeing his blood on her hands. Up until that moment, she had been hiding away from her mission, wearing a mask that suggested that she had been okay with their new world order.

But they said the wrong things.

"Three years ago," Haruka laughed, choking up on tears, "I believed the same thing. I believed that people deserved to live and be happy."

The tallest one listened intently, nodding his head as his wife, a pretty and normal sized woman came forward, hugging onto his shoulder. She recognized her as a reporter.

"I believed that Damian, the little boy lying here..." Haruka whispered bitterly, "when I first met him.. I believed that I would be able to save him. He was angry like me."

The man that she hated the most crouched down beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

His hands were so warm and kind, but they weren't supposed to be. They were supposed to be cold like death, and they were shaking as she looked up and saw tears in his eyes. He was supposed to be cruel and hateful, not a father who had lost his son.

Batman was supposed to be everything that she hated, but he was just a man standing there, broken by this unfortunate moment in time.

But then she remembered, he had successfully stopped Crystal Tokyo from being established. He had stopped the one thing that would have promised his son to be alive right now.

She grabbed onto his wrist and chuckled darkly. "You will pay for your crimes."

**oOOooOoOO**

**Three Years Earlier**

**Present Day**

**Rei Hino's Apartment **

**Downtown Gotham **

Keeping secrets had never been something new for the fire-wielding senshi. However, it wasn't until recently that she made it her business to keep things purposely quet. She lived by the saying, "Never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

She had to take precautions beyond what was normal since Michiru was involved. While she wasn't psychic like Rei, she also had an acute extra sensory perception that was especially useful with her hand mirror that showed her the truth and answers to anything she wished. Because of that fact, she had to continually tire her body out by using her aura to block out all spiritual energy from getting close to her.

Of course, it kept her tired and exhausted, barely enough energy to lift her tea and get the caffeine she had been lacking.

Taking out her laptop, she placed an usb stick into it's port, a folder opening up immediately, showing pictures, audio, and video footage of Batman that she gotten Ami to hack off the government computer and from any video sources on the net.

Apparently, he was camera shy because even with that being done, there were hardly any sources with him in battle. Unlike the sailor senshi, he didn't like being flashy-in fact, he thought every move before the fight then changed it up accordingly.

Most of the Batman clips that she could find were from during the time Bane had taken over Gotham City, and that black-wearing hero, he fought beautifully. Looking at the clock, she had to hurry and take the shower that her body had been starving for after the long day at work-and for the dinner that Connor had asked her to join in.

When she thought about it, she should have rejected the idea, but his eyes had this strange ability to make her forget about her plans. It was strange for no man had ever had that ability to make her want to do things that she had no intentions about doing before. Well, at least, no one in this world had that ability.

Looking at her phone, she saw Dick Grayson had texted her to which she lifted and thought for a moment about whether to read it or not. "View," she clicked then about a second later, she was giggling softly, It wasn't even all that funny, but only because they had made an inside-joke about the amount of time that Jack Snyder, their senior advisor, was going to snort when he was caught looking at her during the company meeting.

He had surprisingly kept her eyes off of her during the meeting, but Dick had taken a video of him, watching her while she was eating lunch with Connor during their break.

'You were right,' Rei typed, 'what do I owe you?'

'My heart!... I need it back to give it back to you on a silver platter.'

Rei's face turned red, unsure how to respond. '3... is that good enough? Can't tell which one is your's. lol'

'Another insincere laugh out loud... the biggest lie that our generation made up, don't ya think?'

Rei smiled lightly, deciding to drop the conversation with the classic, 'lol.' Not sure about the rules about girls talking to their managers on the phone, she always tried to keep the conversations as minimum as possible though he had this uncanny ability to send her something just dumb enough to be brilliant enough to make her laugh.

She swore that he always knew what to say-even when she thought he shouldn't say a thing. It was strange to think that he and Connor were supposed to be friends with how different they were. The latter had this quiet pressure about him, this mystery and kindness hidden behind his rough exterior while Dick had this joker, immaturity thing that she didn't quite get, but it reminded her of Minako.

Now that she thought about it, they were the male version of her and Minako.

Sitting back, she crossed her arms in thought, wondering what people thought when they saw her and Minako together. Did it come off so strangely to the world around them also? However, she wondered if it weren't for the sailor senshi business, if they'd come together and if not, what was it that brought Connor and Dick together?

Not wanting the answer to that question, fearing that knowing the truth would hurt her more than help her, she closed the laptop and put the phone on top of it as she walked into the bathroom, turning on the water to the shower.

Putting her hand into the water, she tested it-only to realize it was much too cold. Sometimes she wondered if it was even worth the secret, paying for an extra home despite living somewhere else most of the time if the hot water was next to non-existent for at least fifteen minutes of letting it warm up.

She was about to go back out and grab her cellphone when she heard her apartment's door open on the other side.

Damn, who was that? Outside of Connor and Dick, no one knew about this place-would one of them mention this place to one of their work associates? No, neither one were that stupid. They were men, sure, and all men were stupid according to her, but who would come in without saying a word?

There was silence on the other side. Why'd she choose a house in the ghetto when she knew it was unsafe even before she moved there? What if they had a gun, they could shoot through the bathroom door and get her before she even had a chance to react... she looked around and saw a barred window.

The person was trashing her apartment, throwing things on the ground as if they were looking for something. It went on for about half an hour until there was nothing but silence.

She waited about ten minutes before unlocking her door, deciding that she would hurry and grab her stuff and leave. However, as soon as the lock was undone, the man came rushing into the bathroom.

Her heart raced as she froze as her body was pushed back into the counter, the man using his body weight against her, keeping her still.

"Be quiet, and let's talk."

**Sailor Senshi's Condominium**

**Upstate Gotham City**

"Watch, one day! I'm totally gonna beat you in a race." The young boy jumped up and back, throwing his fist in the air, a rebellious smile planted on his face.

Haruka's eyes narrowed as she let out a deep and throaty laugh. "Yeah, yea kid. Just get out my room so that I can change, 'kay." She had been dressed in her racecar gear for hours, and soon Michiru would be home, wanting to know why the kid was over once again. That being the case, she needed to at least look presentable when trying to come up with a reason besides, she had asked him if he would like a ride to get some candy then took him home, well, technically, her own home... but still.

She needed a plan.

Damian still sat on her bed with the remote in his hand, popping gum in his mouth, acting like he owned the place.

"Hey big head, I said, 'get out.'" Haruka threw out there, not really caring enough to try even though she knew she should start caring. While she knew Michiru would never yell, she knew what she would do and that was much worse than any screamer could do. That woman had cruel and unusual ways to torture people, and while Haruka pretended to be cool-headed and never one to worry, it was all a facade.

"Big head, did you hear me, little man?"

Damian turned to look at her, his eyes crystal cold. "Dude, you're so weird, what kind of dude cares about another dude seeing them..."

Haruka sighed as she looked in the mirror, remembering that she hadn't told him that she was only a crossdresser and not actually a man. To her, dressing one way or another didn't really matter to her, it was just fashion. Some days, she'd wear a skirt and flaunt the hell out of it; other days, she bound her chest down and walked around like some male model.

"Fine, let's go in the kitchen and eat some cookies, then."

"What the hell?" Damian snorted as he took out a bag of chips out of pocket, ripping it open and started smacking on it. "That sounds stupid. I'm watching tv-waaaaa, reallly?!"

Without so much as another word, Haruka grabbed the boy by his ear and took his chips out of his hands, dumping some of it into her mouth and threw him out the room-literally. He landed on his butt, and started yelling about how they had laws about that kind of thing.

He continued yelling for another five minutes before remembering that Haruka said that the walls were sound proof. True story or not, "he" seemed to be the type to keep up a lie as long as it fit his needs.

Looking around, he frowned, trying to find a gaming system outside of the Atari and Sega Genesis that looked like it hadn't been used since it originally came out in the nineties. Or maybe, it was the eighties. It didn't really matter to him; knowing the answer wouldn't help him at all. Outside of portrait here or there, it wasn't anything spectacular about the people who lived there with Haruka though he thought it was awesome that a guy could have that many females as roommates in real life.

He laughed to himself, imagining the girl's begging to have the famous racecar driver's attention then put himself in that position. Life will definitely be good once he became a driver when he got old enough to be in that kind of field.

Apparently, Haruka had been a racecar driver since "he" had been sixteen years old, always beating out the best. That has to be the coolest thing ever!

He sighed, realizing that even if he followed in Haruka's footsteps, he would still have to wait six years before he could even try to compete against his hero.

Lifting a photo frame, he turned his head slightly, confused. "I didn't know he has a twin... she's cute." For some reason, he found himself smiling, wondering why Haruka had never mentioned that he had a sister. Of course, he never mentioned his brothers, but that was for a reason, why wouldn't she mention her own?

"I agree... I am, but what are you doing?" a woman proclaimed, her arms crossed over her chest, her long hair wavy and green with eyes that he had only seen on his own father. "Haruka..."

Michiru dropped her purse on the counter and walked over to the young boy, a smile on her lips. Damian backed away from her, feeling as if being too close would mean major circumstances. "Who are you, lady?"

Michiru's fake smile dropped. They had met more than once before, and she was starting to feel like the question had become a running gag for the young boy. Grabbing his face gently, she studied him, a wicked look in her eyes. "Your father.. I assume is Mr. Bruce Wayne, am I correct?" The boy was everything that she would imagine the mystery-clas Bruce would be when he was younger, back when it wasn't an act.

"Yeah, so what.."

Michiru's eyes glistened, thinking about the other night when she got him to the dance floor. Anger flickered through her soul, but outside of her eyes, her face was unreadable. "He's a horrible dancer."

"What the fu-"

"Don't curse, please." Another girl came walking in, this one very different from the last-though they both had strangely colored hair. He remembered her from the first time that he had come here; that time, she was the one who brought him in to tend to his injuries from a fight from the night before. "Oh-hi Damian-chan..."

"-Chan... isn't that what you Japanese say when you're speaking to other girls?" Damian spat to which he watched the first woman, Michiru, begin to laugh. He hadn't quite noticed it, but when she laughed, there was this mystical beauty to her-and she seemed child-like for that one moment.

The second girl nodded but then threw up one finger to the side as if she were pointing to a board but rather was just talking. "It is true that the honorific -chan can refer to girls of any age, but it is also used when people to young children."

Damian frowned, his eyebrows knitted in anger. "I'm eleven, that's barely a kid... call me something that means 'Lord' or something."

Michiru looked up when he said that, still trying to stifle her giggle. "Only if you call me mama and Haruka, papa..."

"Eww... why would I do that, freak?"

Michiru smiled an all-knowing smile as if to say 'gotcha,' then said, "Then we won't won't call you something so ridiculous...it is also rude, in our culture, to demand what honor that we bestow upon you." Flipping her hair behind her shoulder, she kneeled down to his position, "do you see how that could be considered rude, just as it would be rude for me to make you call me your 'mom?'"

The blue-haired girl, the one that had been explaining what honorifics meant sat quietly, listening to everything being said. "I'm sorry, but it also means a 'close companion,' but I really shouldn't be using honorifics with you, anyways, should I?" She had this sad look in her eyes that made Damian look away.

"N-No, it's fine," the young boy said, his heart in a fritz. Had he done something wrong to her for her to have that look? Why was she so sad? Could it be that she was homesick and couldn't go back? "I like when you speak Japanese," he tried to console, his eyes looking at the picture that he had found before they had come in. "It reminds me of the cartoons that I watch on the computer when my dad isn't around."

There was silence between all three in the room as Michiru and Ami's eyes had also caught the picture that he had been staring at. The latter walked over to him, sitting behind him, her arms outstretched past him and touched the picture. He couldn't see her, but she had this sweet scent that was recognizable anywhere.

He stared at the picture that had the two of them in a trance where ten girls stood together with a dark haired guy holding onto a girl that Damian had once seen in his father's files. He didn't actually read the file because he wasn't even supposed to be on the computer and Tim had walked in. Not wanting to get in trouble, he clicked out and locked the computer.

There was a girl that looked exactly like Haruka... he swore they could be twins, but it made him feel weird since his twin was actually pretty cute.

It was weird because he only met five of the people on the picture, but they seemed so different from the people that lived in this condominium. In this one picture, they were smiling, laughing,.. they were just normal teenage girls.

"You think she's pretty cute, huh, little man?" Haruka's voice woke him up from his stupor, "his" voice like a teenage boy, a coolness that rivaled even Dick's.

"Is she your sister or something?"

Ami and Michiru looked in her direction, waiting for her answer, the latter appearing to chuckle at the question, the other's face red like an apple. "Nah, nothing like that." Haruka decided that being as vague as possible was the best answer. "Do you wanna go play the Grand Theft Auto game in my room while I order up some food, kid?"

"Hell yeah!"

Haruka patted his head as he ran past her, not paying attention to the lampstand, nearly knocking it over in his rush plan to get to the game. "Big head! Watch where you're going, is that so hard to ask for?

Michiru picked up the photo and sat on the couch, tracing the smallest child with dark hair and purple eyes, her little girl. It had been awhile since they had last heard from her and even longer since they had seen her.

Ami, seeing the genuine soft expression, excused herself.

Haruka closed the door to the room where Damian had been playing the X-Box. The conversation was coming; she was sure of it.

"Haruka," Michiru sighed as she placed the picture down. "what are you doing?"

"I'm working to keep our home." Haruka knew that wasn't what she meant, but she didn't want to act like she understood.

Michiru glanced back at the picture of their friends and the daughter that she, Haruka, and Setsuna had joint custody over. "Why do you keep trying to replace her?"

"What are you talking about?" Haruka's brow furrowed.

The green-haired woman's expression darkened. It was the same look that Haruka had become accustomed to when she was afraid of what they were doing was wrong. It was both determined and somehow frail. "I feel like you... it-it was the worst thing for Ami to do to bring him home to mend wounds."

"W-what? Why?!" Haruka screamed, her voice going much higher than its normal pitch.

"You have grown used to be a motherly papa up to now. We were sixteen when Hotaru had been reincarnated and given to us, all three of us-and we became parents. That's nearly half your life that you had become accustomed to that-"

"Quiet!" The two never argued, but since everything happened, everything changed. Since neither liked talking out their feelings, Hotaru's name had never been brought up. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the right time to bring it up, not for her Haruka. She didn't need someone telling her that she missed her daughter when her heart already knew that.

"Haruka! You're picking kids up off the streets! You picked up Bruce Wayne's child!" Michiru's whisper cut the air, her glamorous face contorted in a way that didn't fit her. "That is dangerous business!"

Haruka put her arms across her chest as she leaned against the wall with one shoulder touching the plaster, cocking her head to the side, imitating some old school yakuza in a Japanese movie. "Who cares about who's kid it is/ have you seen that kid's smile?"

"I've never seen him smile... and that's beyond the point."

Haruka looked like she wanted to cry. How couldn't Michiru see what she saw? Why didn't she understand?

"You're using Hotaru as an excuse to find children to plug a hole, but we have a mission. Have you forgotten that? You become attached to the way this place is, and soon, you'll be saying that our destiny had always been wrong!"

The blonde short-haired woman punched the wall "I can't just forget about everything like you, Michiru. I won't. I don't plan to ever let go of Hotaru... I don't plan on letting go of my mission, but I will not abandon him."

"You want to be like a cool parental figure or some kind of big brother to him! It's weird, don't you get it? Even if Bruce Wayne isn't what I think he is, don't you think he will find it odd that you, a grown woman, wants to have his child around... then, what if he has us investigated?"

Michiru was making sense. She was sensible, had always been the sensible one, always thought everything through, the opposite of Haruka who ran with the wind, went wherever the current took her. "He's never smiled."

Michiru quirked an eyebrow.

"He never smiles..." Haruka repeated, remembering the first time that he had been over their house, the day that Ami had brought him there. She could remember doing everything possible to get him to give her a chance to see his baby face look actually like a child, but he was always serious. He was like Hotaru before she became part of their team. When she saw him, she saw Hotaru, that sad little girl who had no one who cared for her. :He's lonely..." _Like us._

Michiru looked away and walked over to the window, looking out. When did it ever become so hard to understand one another? "Then forget about it."

"I can't do that. I just told y-"

"Forget about Hotaru, I mean. You're a soldier, first and foremost for the future Crystal Tokyo, formerly part of the White Moon Kingdom's outer protectors. Forget about her, throw on a mask until this is over."

Haruka couldn't believe what she was saying. "I can't take my mask on and off like you, Michiru."

Michiru smiled sadly. "Haruka, everyone wears a mask... whether we choose to or not."


End file.
